Save for my usual stumble on names, I relaxed over the next interview details when I received Antim’s mail. As my phone alerted me it was 11 am on the 8th of July, 2016, I dialled the number assigned to me for my next interview with Mrs. Namrata Borgave, Sr. Software Engineer at ShimBi Labs. I was relaxed and looked ahead at a pleasant 20-30 minutes ahead. Little did I know what awaited me the next minute. I guess this is how you would feel before a Tsunami- a total cluelessness about the huge wave that's going to hit you the next second.
A feminine voice met me on the other side of the phone and listened to me as I asked for Mrs. Namrata Borgave and introduced myself as Tisha, virtual intern at ShimBi Labs and I swiftly went ahead with the interview. I asked her to speak about herself and she suddenly replied “No, no, I won't!” (Uh Oh! Since when was it such a crime to ask someone to speak about themselves? I cursed myself for not having checked the newspapers for an alien crash or a similar news regarding human conduct rules.) I tried again, “umm ma'am, I need to know about you to write the blog.” I guess I even said a please and she took a sigh, said a mild “sorry” and started “ who are you?! Who gave you my number? Why do you wanna know about me??” I felt like I was on trial for some severe severe crime. I tried cross checking her details again but she blatantly said “no, I don't want to work!”. I apologised for I don't know what and cut the call. “Really???” I asked myself!
It was upon a quick relieving call to Antim that we realised there had been a mix up with the contact details and I redialled again, this time anxious as I was about my boards results. Thankfully, a lovely persona met me on the other side of the phone. So, the real Mrs. Namrata Borgave (oh, as usual I'd spelled that wrong too. It was ‘Bor-gav-ey’), was a native of the Singli district in Maharashtra and she came with a 4 years experience at ShimBi Labs, with ShimBi Labs being her first job experience. We laughed over my mishap of an attempted interview minutes before and went ahead with our interview. Though timid at first, Mrs. Namrata warmed up when I asked her about work, which made a huge, happy chunk of her life as will be clear soon.
As we spoke, she told me how her love for travelling was coupled with her love for cooking. It did strike me as oddly pleasant when she told me, in between her giggles and my surprised laughter, that she got her recipes from her office itself! No, no. This is ShimBi Labs, a software company. But yes, there is another world in this company too. Mrs. Namrata told me she discusses various recipes with her colleagues at work and cooks for them too to get their feedback. Imagine my brow drop when she told me she only cooked vegetarian, for I had conjured up images of more chicken biryani( meanwhile, as a side note- following my interview with Mr. Amit, I made sure I had a good round of chicken biryani to kill that sudden craving!)
If there was one other dream Mrs. Namrata harboured it was to have a government job and this was precisely the reason why she opted for Civil Engineering following her 12th grade. Oh, forgive me for not being precise. Ms. Namrata Borgave is now Mrs. Namrata Tamagave- ever since last December! Following her marriage, her distance from workplace to current home is now more than one hour in the morning itself, but she has no complaints. I'm sure it's all worth it and I wish the newlyweds (I know it's halfway through their first year, but in my defence- I just came to know!) a bright, happy, fun filled road ahead!
Like every other employee at ShimBi Labs I spoke to, Namrata ma'am too only had words of praise for her workplace. Infact, she even confessed how emotionally attached she is to her office when I asked her how or where she sees herself in 5 years time: here, right here at ShimBi Labs.
She explained to me the perks of working with Japanese clients when I posed my doubts regarding the language barrier. True, there definitely was some difficulty but she had mastered it and 4 years of experience has made her interaction with Japanese clients a happy one. She shared with me what was the best thing about working with Japanese clients- they were precise. There was no dilly-dallying around the bush. They knew what they wanted and that is exactly what they would ask for, unlike most Indian clients who were mostly undecided or confused of their requirements. Since she was on a friendlier side with the Japanese language than I have ever been in my life, I chose to ask her the origin of the word ‘ShimBi’ which had always played at the back of my mind as a persistent doubt. Namrata ma'am explained it was a Japanese word but as much as she explained to me it's meaning, I failed to catch it. I guess I'm reallllllly growing old! *sigh*
ShimBi Labs Story
I was used to interviewing the youngest siblings in a family, but Namrata ma'am turned out to be the eldest in hers and I jumped to ask her :how is it ??? She replied in all earnestness “I do not like it, too much responsibilities you see”!! Speaking of which, her youngest brother is in 9th grade.
The sweetest answer she gave me, which left me with an ‘aww’ in my mind for a couple of minutes was her answer to my question on what was the best day or happiest thing in her life. It was ShimBi Labs for her. The strong friendships, the planned trips, the recipe sharing and food circulations, the determination to stick to a deadline no matter what, etc. had made ShimBi Labs not just a place of work and earning, but a place she'll always want to stick to. Her haven.
Siddharth, you were right. There really is more to techies than just that software life...